Daily Archives: 24 Jul 2018

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Since he once destroyed the huts of the poor, plundering houses instead of building them up, since his avarice could never be satisfied, now all his hoarding will not save him; since nothing could escape his greed, his prosperity will not last. When he has everything he needs, want will seize him, and misery will light on him with all its force.

On him God looses all his burning wrath, hurling against his flesh a hail of arrows. If he escapes the weapons of iron, the bow of bronze will transfix him. Out of his back sticks an arrow, from his gall a shining point. The terrors advance on him, all the hidden darknesses are waiting to carry him off. A fire unlit by human hand devours him, and consumes what is left in his tent.

The heavens lay bare his iniquity, and the earth rises up against him. The income of his house pours away, like the torrents, on the day of retribution. Such is the fate God reserves for the wicked, the inheritance he assigns to the accursed! (Job 20:19-29)

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It’s the dog days of summer when everyone in academics is supposed to be resting from the sprint of the last school year yet also producing a ton of top-notch research. Many conferences are afoot as well and, as everyone knows, these can either help or hinder the dual tasks of rest and research. I’ve been trying to stay moving just like everyone else, so hopefully my readers can tolerate a more personal update.

Here’s some of the stuff I’ve been up to recently, whether in print or in person.

I’t’s the perfect collection of essays leading up, eventually, to the publication of the author’s commentary on the Book of Job. Indeed, what the author has provided is what many are beginning to provide: a series of preliminary studies on a biblical text in preparation for a larger monograph on that text. In such volumes, scholars provide us with a window into their workshop. How do they approach central issues? How do they apply various methodologies to that text? What sort of groundwork do they do in preparing to publish an extensive critical commentary? Those questions are answered in volumes such as the present one.

Many of these essays appear in print elsewhere but here they are handily assembled and made easily accessible. The volume’s value is precisely in the fact that so many studies of the Book of Job, which are incredibly insightful, are under one cover.

The author is quite well informed on the topic and brings to bear a wealth of knowledge especially of the Rabbinic traditions. Copious observations from the Talmud and other early Jewish texts shine through in nearly every part. But historical-critical scholarship is also in Witte’s toolbox. He is, briefly, a master of many methodologies and he is tied to none.

I look forward to his commentary. In the meanwhile, I commend this work to you as you too await the appearance of a commentary sure to matter.

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Homeschooling can be a controversial topic among Christians, but it shouldn’t be. It’s the only choice for real believers. In addition to the obvious reasons like better test scores, family values, and the ability to ensure your children never, ever encounter a secular worldview before they turn 18, homeschooling gives you a lot of street cred with the other parents in your hood.

While there are 10,000 reasons for your heart to find to praise homeschooling, we’ve narrowed them down to just the top 5:

1.) The earth can be whatever age you say it is. 6,000 years? Sure, go for it. 4 billion and some change? Knock yourself out. You could even tell your kids the earth is a virtual simulation implanted in our minds by machines that enslaved us after a war for control of the earth’s resources, if you want to.

2.) Your kids can graduate early, like before they hit puberty or before they even get out of the womb. While late-blooming homeschool kids might graduate high school when they’re 13, the average homeschooler graduates well before puberty. A few outliers have even graduated before they were officially born. Now that’s something you can brag about.

3.) You can teach your children important life skills like math, science, Latin, Sindarin, and looking down on everyone who doesn’t homeschool. While those public school kids are still learning how to tie their shoes, you can jump-start your children’s knowledge of extremely useful subjects, fictional languages, and the all-important life skill of sneering at people who went to public school. Don’t worry, they won’t pick up on your condescending attitude any more than they know how to do basic algebra.

4.) You’ll get to feel the raw, unadulterated power of being able to shape the minds of future generations coursing through your veins like holy fire. It’s a high unlike any other, and it’s not just for public school teachers anymore. The power coursing through your veins will quickly become addicting.

5.) God will love you more. This is probably the best reason: God will simply love you more if you homeschool. Favor from the Most High usually isn’t easy to obtain by our own efforts, but with homeschooling, it is!